(Alk)acrylic esters have a variety of uses, such as monomers or co-monomers for making a variety of polymers. (Alk)acrylic ester can be produced industrially, such as by esterification of an alcohol with an (alk)acrylic acid under azeotropic conditions wherein water is removed from the reaction mixture during the reaction by distillation. This method is not useful for the manufacture of all (alk)acrylic esters, particularly those that are unstable at higher temperatures.
(Alk)acrylic esters can also be produced by addition of an alcohol to an (alk)acryloyl chloride. This reaction can be difficult to perform on an industrial scale because in order to proceed in good yield, it is necessary to rigorously exclude water from the reaction. Also, the reaction is highly exothermic, and therefore requires both very slow addition of the alcohol to the (alk)acryloyl chloride and effective cooling. Even with cooling, the reaction can pose a risk of fire or explosion when performed on an industrial scale